Random Bits
by NicetyL
Summary: Small bits of randomness, because I'm bad at writing longer works.
1. Silent Comfort

When Kitty calls for me again, it's a gentle tug in my essence, more of a request than a demand for me to push out of the Other World and into the human realm. Of course, I know it's her right away- who else would perform such a half-hearted summons? It hasn't been long since the kid died, so I can guess what this is about.  
Still, I show up at my pentacle moaning and groaning (you try working under a snotty little kid for five years straight _and_ save the world with him, and see what it does to you), my essence in acute pain. I can't even form Ptolemy's general shape, so I end up going for a cat.  
No sooner had I shown up, than Kitty is wrapping her arms around my small form, almost smothering me in a hug. Beautiful colors swirl around her in a bright blanket, though her face still shows signs of wrinkles and old age that comes at the price of stepping into the Other Place.  
"Kitty," I mumble into her shoulder. "If this was anyone else, I would've killed them by now."  
Then she's full-on sobbing- maybe I shouldn't have mentioned death when she was probably still grieving for that brat, but she's holding my frail essence too tightly, and every touch sends a jolting pain through me.  
"I knew! I knew it was dangerous, I knew you might not come back, but I still let both of you go—" she cuts off, her voice almost a whisper. "We found his body today."  
"And the first thing you do is summon me? You know what I've been through? What does a djinni have to do to get a break around here?"  
She's still staring at me with that lost, helpless look, and with a great amount of pain, I wriggle out of her grasp and land on my paws.  
"Seriously," I say, flicking my tail. "I share a body with a magician, kill the strongest spirit to have been summoned to earth in centuries, save London, and you can't let me lie in peace for an age- "  
"The thing is, I'm not even grieving for him," she says. "I'm not even sad he's gone. I know I've lost so many people to this- but you know what I felt when they told me he died defeating Nouda? Relief. I felt relieved Nouda was dead, along with most of the magicians in London. That was my first thought, Bartimaeus."  
"Okay," I interrupt, putting a paw on her knee. "Kitty, you need to calm down. Shock is one of the first stages of grief- don't ask me why I know–"  
"Bartimaeus," she says, hugging herself. "Help me."  
I stare at her shaking form, how small she's become since the last time I'd seen her (which isn't too long ago, apparently, if they're only now finding Nat's body). Her words mean nothing to me, since she ins't standing in her pentacle giving me charges.  
Sighing, I sit beside her, letting the warmth of my fiery essence soak into her.  
It's a while before she stops crying.  
"You know," I say, after a while, cracking a dry laugh. "This is the first time someone's summoned me just to comfort them…"  
Kitty sighs, rubbing at her eyes. "Except for Nathaniel."  
"Well," I pause, wondering if that was true. He did bind me painfully to this human world for so many years. But... "Yeah. He was much brattier about it, though."  
Kitty snorts.


	2. Stars

He's humming something under his breath.  
It's something quiet, something happy, as he sits on the window sill, dangling his legs over the street outside. I think he's watching the sunrise. Who really knows, with Bartimaeus?  
I warily approach the djinni from behind, staying out of his immediate reach. After all, the last time I'd wandered too close to him while he was sitting by a window, he'd thrown me out of it.  
"What are you doing?" I ask. "You have work to do. I'm sure I've given you enough. Or do you want more?"  
Bartimaeus turns his head to me lazily, smiling. I'm sure he knows his expression irritates me. "Wanna see?"  
"What?"  
He pats the space beside him, inviting me to sit.  
I scoff. "No thanks. Now, if you don't have anything to do- "  
"Oh, come on." He says, and somehow, he grabs my arm and forces me next to him.  
I'm about to give him the Stiples for touching me, but his gaze is caught in the distance, and involuntarily, I follow it.  
My breath catches in my throat, and a memory, almost forgotten, rustles in the back of my mind. Sitting with Miss Lutyens, mapping out the constellations, sketching out the clouds and the curve of the moon.  
Bartimaeus shifts beside me, and I'm alert again.  
"I swear, Bartimaeus, if you try to kill me, I'll bring back the rosemary box."  
"Relax," he says, scowling. "You've made your charges clear this time." He grins. "You should've checked your charges twice before summoning a powerful djinni like me. Not that I mind. The more mistakes you make, the less likely you'll be around to summon me again."  
I glare at him, and start the incantations for the Inversion under my breath.  
He stands up. "As lovely as it is to spend my free time smelling your hair gel, I actually _do_ have other places I want to be."  
"You really did complete your other charges." I say, breaking off the incantation as he transforms into a bird. "How long have you been slacking off?"  
But even before I finish my sentence, he's flown away, and I'm tempted to summon him back and give him another charge just to spite him. Maybe I should tell him to reorganize the library again, or tell him to clear the chimneys. But then I give the stars another glance.  
Again, I remember the garden, and Miss Lutyens.  
I heard spirits like looking at the stars because it reminds them of their home. Is that what Bartimaeus had been thinking about, when looking at those twinkling pinpricks of light?  
I hesitate, watching the djinni flapping his wings in the distance.  
I'll give him a few more hours.  
It's not like I don't have other work to be getting back to.  
I step back into the corridor, adjusting my sleeves and tie, then smoothing back my hair.  
"Piper!" I bark, as I see my secretary disappearing around the corner. "Where are you going when we have a pile of papers to sign?"


End file.
